Don't have an account?

Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Family member: Robert Honsch, accused of 1995 murders of wife and daughter, lived double life as Robert Tyree in Ohio

honschnew.JPG

Robert L.Honsch, stands during his arraignment Monday in Westfield District Court for the Sept. 23, 1995 murder of his wife Marcia, which is alleged to have occured in Tolland.
(Staff photo by Mark Murray)

WESTFIELD — Robert Honsch was so invested in his new identity, he signed his waiver of extradition to Massachusetts from Ohio as "Robert Tyree," according to court records.

He was arraigned as "Robert Honsch, also known as Robert Tyree" in Westfield District Court on Monday morning. Gaunt and pale with wispy white hair, Honsch, 70, appeared to shrink from reporters as he pleaded not guilty to a 19-year-old murder charge in connection with the death of his wife, Marcia Honsch.

Marcia Honsch, 53, was found near the entrance of Tolland State Forest in October 1995. The body of their daughter, 17-year-old Elizabeth Honsch, had been discovered behind a shopping plaza in New Britain, Conn., eight days earlier in September. Both had been shot in the head.

The family lived in Brewster, N.Y., at the time. The town is less than a two-hour drive from the state forest.

Investigators said the women were unidentifiable – although determined to be mother and daughter through DNA testing. A relative from Virginia Beach, Va., revived the question of their disappearances earlier this year, according to police, and helped positively identify the women.

Honsch was tracked down in Dalton, Ohio, with a new wife and three children. He interviewed by police in July and arrested. Authorities have said a review of items found near Elizabeth Honsch's body connected him to the scene, though they have not specified what the items were.

Mother and daughter visited Honsch's brother, John Honsch, in Garnerville, N.Y., several years ago to learn about about Robert. Kathleen Tyree said John Honsch told the women Robert had been married before. Sheryl Tyree opted to stay with her husband, Kathleen Tyree told the newspaper.

John Honsch told The Journal News in New York that his brother had lost contact with the family years before. Relatives were told he was moving his family to Australia, police said.

Sheryl Tyree met Honsch at a Christian truck stop while she was a trucker, according to The Journal News. When the two planned to marry, Kathleen Tyree said her daughter didn't care for his surname, so he took her name.

John Honsch does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached. A phone number for Kathleen Tyree in Marion, Ohio, has been disconnected. Sheryl Tyree could not be reached.

Honsch will be arraigned for Elizabeth Honsch's murder, although that date has not been yet. In Westfield, Honsch has another scheduled court date on Sept. 23, but Orenstein said Honsch will likely be indicted in Hampden Superior Court and arraigned there before then.

The records filed in Westfield District Court remain under seal and are not yet public.